Hell’s Kitchen Finale: What Alex did to secure his win and why he deserves it so much

Thursday night marked the end of the 21st season of Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages. In the final episode, part one consisted of each of the three remaining chefs creating, cooking, and having their menus judged and given scores of 1 – 10. The two highest scores of the evening told us that the final two chefs in the competition were Chef Dafne (who ended up coming in 2nd palce) and Chef Alex (who ended up winning the whole entire thing).

While we are super sad that Chef Alejandro eventually came in third place, he really did a fantastic job staying super consistent the whole entire season. He’ll definitely get a job out of this from somebody watching, or maybe even from Ramsay himself, for sure!

Let’s take a look at what Alex did to win and why he deserved said coveted title!

What did Chef Alex do to win Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages? Let’s find out!

1. He Served a Cohesive Southern-Comfort Style Menu

His menu started out by serving a cold southern-style fish dish that earned him praise for that ‘hit of acid’ as it was judged. His hot app was a Prawn Hushpuppy, and while the particular chef judging him said that it was lacking flavor, it was surely the fanciest Hushpuppy that he had ever seen. Alex also was able to fic it up and add in some additional flavors to it, come actual dinner service time. For his chicken dish he served chicken two different ways; one was super flavorful and one was just a bit lacking. Alex’s fish entree was labeled and sexy and his beef/steak dish was cooked ‘immaculately’ as Chef Curtis Stone had even stated himself.

Overall, reviews on his initial menu were mixed; however, he had the most cohesive menu out of all three of the final chefs, which is what ultimately earned him the second spot in the finale finale, just after Chef Dafne completely dominated that particular challenge.

Having a cohesive menu is super important. You don’t want someone appetizer dish to be super overpowering in flavor that it ruins the rest of the evening for them, but on the other hand, you also don’t want everything to taste the exact same. I certainly think that Alex had the most perfect mix of both!

2. He Chose a Strong Team in the End

Here was the team that he had chosen in a draft against Chef Dafne in the finale, part two episode: Alejandro, Brett, Cheyenne, and Tara. While some chefs (Brett and Cheyenne, and just a tiny bit of Tara) made mistakes, his dinner service was definitely much more smoothly-ran than his competitor’s that night on finale night, that’s for dang sure.

Having a strong team of chefs behind him, who actually knew what they were doing without relying on the help of others or screaming at each other, was really what Alex needed to back him up that night. He also used the most perfect combo of kindness, sincerity, and some tough love as well; this proved to his team that he was not only behind them every step of the way, but also the fact that he is a great leader when it comes to being on the pass of ‘his’ kitchen!

3. He Remained Consistent All Season, Despite All The Punishments

Alex almost never, if ever, got nominated to go home. He was always such a super strong chef, especially when it came to consistency.

I believe that he came close to, if not completely doing it, that is, setting a record for having the most punishments to complete in a row, standing at 9 for him. Thank God for his punishment pass, am I right or what (even though that only made him miss out and skip out one just one of the punishments)?

He never let all of those punishments get him down or slow his roll and mess up with his mojo. You go, Alex! You so deserved this, buddy!

Why did Chef Alex deserve to win Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages? Let’s see!

Chef Alex deserved to win Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages for a number of reasons! Here they are in no particular order:

1. He Had a Hard Year Back in 2020

He deserves this so much! Not that he needed it, as I truly believe that he would’ve gotten a job out of the show regardless, but he had just opened his restaurant back in 2018. But as we all know, 2020 happened and affected literally everyone and anyone that you’ll come across in your life going forward. He unfortunately had to shut his restaurant down for good, which totally and completely crushed his soul, and rightfully so. I don’t know how I would’ve gone on, honestly.

2. He Was an Honest Chef, Always Himself, and Had Zero Regrets

Alex was so unapologetically himself. He never swayed from his roots whenever he got the chance, and just always seemed to do things with a tried and true purpose.

3. He Was Simply The Best Chef of Season 21

If you know me or knew me while I was watching Season 21 of Hell’s Kitchen, then you’ll know that I was a huge Alejandro fan. I was so gutted and super emotional when he was sent home after coming in just 3rd place overall; however, he should be super proud of himself nonetheless!

Alex, on the other hand, almost never had bad service nights. Sure, he got into it with several of the other chefs this season; however, that never seemed to bother him enough to rattle his brain cells and break his super high levels of cooking concentration!

What did you think of this analysis? Do you agree with me that Alex was the most deserving of this said win? Let’s chat about all of that and so so much more down in the comments below! We’ll see you next year for yet another season of Hell’s Kitchen with a brand new theme and group of chefs! In the mean time…what’s your most fave season of Hell’s Kitchen EVER and why?